MSP revealed to have 49 six figure execs

David Brauer catches an incredible statistic:

The Detroit Free Press looks at airport-commission salaries at nine national airports; although MSP ranked sixth in size, our folks finished second in positions with salaries over $100,000. Atlanta, the nation’s busiest airport, has seven such execs; we have 49, even though we’re 13th-busiest. Others worth noting: Denver (fifth-busiest, 34 people over $100K), Philadelphia (10th, nine) and Detroit (11th, 46). Only Dallas — third-ranked, with 100 folks over $100,000 — beats us out. Something for local reporters to look into.

That’s pretty much the definition of what’s gone wrong with our economy. There is absolutely no consistency regarding salaries at high executive levels. Across the country business managers somehow manage to all come up with minimum wage or close to it for workers, and they reliably all come up with the same low dollar numbers. But when it comes to executive compensation, the sky is the limit and the floor is set by greed, not the market place.

MSP is, of course, the same airport built with tax dollars and flush with Northwest Airlines money (much of which came from Minnesota taxpayers thanks to the unseemly haste of Republicans and DFLers alike when it comes time to throw away money on NWA).

I’ve lived here for twenty years now, and for twenty years I’ve been watching Minnesota politicians literally throw money at NWA each time the airline’s greedhead CEO or COO or CFO hinted that the airline might — for no rational reason whatsoever — pick up and move to another city, or shift mechanics’ jobs to the Philippines, or whatever the lie was that particular year.

The jobs weren’t saved, the high ranking officers all retired with magnificent golden parachutes to compensate their grotesquely swollen salaries, and throughout it all my résumé clients from NWA let me know that it was a grotesquely homophobic, sexist and racist organization, fucked up by too many Air Force officers and not nearly enough rational human beings. 

The airline industry was the number one abuser of women for years, and they’ve never gotten any better. It’s an industry begging to be nationalized and, frankly, we’d be better off with one national airline instead of all these underperforming aerofuckups that seemingly exist only to overpay their executives.

Forty fucking nine executives making six figures. Is our airport really that hard to run? 

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Mick on the housing crunch in the occupied territories. Not crunch as in shortage, but crunch as in destroying any hopes for peace each time a new unit is built.

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Tild has more on the National Conference for Media Reform, along with some insights on power schmoozing among the sisterhood.

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The DOJ is entering into the Grand Jury stage of unraveling Fredo’s nest of vipers, and Bradley Schlozman looks to be indictee #1. Brad looks to be a bit on the chunky side. They like fat boys on the inside….

Harper’s resurrects an old article by the original Jack Black on the problems with our judicial and penal systems. Reform? That’s never happened. Americans love punishment and since more punishment creates more criminals, we never run out of the latter or the need for more of the former.

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I’ve been putting off mentioning this because it would bring too much joy and happiness to a friend of mine if she knew she had finally prevailed in her two-year battle to get me to waterboard myself each morning when I wake up. 

Neti pot

Army style

It took me months to figure out how to do it correctly (the angle of your head is critical) and when I do it the right way, it’s the second or third most disgusting thing I’ve ever done (actually, it’s in first place all by itself if you don’t count sex acts).

Anyhow, I was in Iowa (a dry part) for Dad’s Day, and I told my mother about this neti pot self-waterboarding approach to sinus health. I was shocked to learn that both she and my middle brother had been doing this for over a year at the suggestion of their doctor. 

I blame osteopaths. Real MDs would just give you sprayable prescription drugs, or recommend you to a surgeon.

And no, that’s not Reece Reese Witherspoon in the first picture. 

 

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